Trek from Vishnusar lake to Gadsar – Day 4

This is a big day, kilometers to walk and too much to climb. But the best thing is that we can’t really make out that it’s that hard because of the nature’s beauty. It’s worth the climb. Start early from Vishnusar lake camp site and spend few minute next to Vishnusar lake. Capture some of the best views from all possible angles as the water will be still in the morning, with no wind. Perfect to get the best shot of reflection of mountains that are on the other side of Vishnusar lake.

Continue your trek further by climbing up for another hour. You will find a stream to the left deep down and this is from Kishnsar/Krishnasar lake which is at approx. 12,000 feet that flows all the way down to Vishnusar lake which is at 11,000 feet. Krishnasar lake is a place where you can fill all your water bottles and get ready for the next big climb. There is a small island at Kishansar lake which becomes much more clear as you climb the Gadsar pass.

In front of Kishnsar lake is a flat ground, nice to walk in the meadows, followed by which is the steep climb. It’s a steep seventy degree climb and you cannot make mistakes here. Two wrong steps and you will be all the way down and there are no trees here, not even one. This is a risky place to climb if it rains, better to camp next to Kishnsar lake and wait for the rain to stop. As you climb higher, don’t forget to stop once in a while and turn around. The view is just too good. You can see how deep the Kishnsar lake is by looking at the color of water. It’s dark blue in some of the places and greenish blue near the island and edges. You can also see the Gadsar peak right in front of you as you climb which looks like a huge monolithic rock . Even though you cannot climb the peak, you can go very close to that and that is the Garsar Pass which is at 13,750 feet. As you climb further and closer to Gadsar pass, just turn around to see the two lakes that you had covered earlier. It appears like twin lake even though there is a height difference 1,000 feet and is the most beautiful view. Don’t forget to capture a panoramic or a wide angle shot from this place. Spend some time photographing at the Gadsar pass.

The view on the other side of the pass is equally beautiful. To the left is the rocky mountains covered with snow patch and to the right is the dry brown mountains. In between is the meadows, stream and the beautiful valley. There is no more climbing for rest of the day and its a gradual descent. If you are lucky then you might find some bright colored flowers in the meadows below. Lot of streams to the left formed by the melting of snow from the snow patched rocky mountains. Continue to trek in the meadows for about 30 minutes after which you will have to climb down which is almost vertical for about 10 minutes. This is where you can take a break for lunch next to the stream and it’s time to fill your water bottles again.

Continue your trek for another 30 minutes and you will soon find another beautiful lake and it’s the Gadsar Lake. This beautiful lake surrounded by small waterfalls and rocky mountains. Locals say not to drink water from Gadsar. So, just enjoy the view, spend some time photographing and continue your trek. This would have been the ideal place to camp, but you are not allowed to camp here as it’s against the army rules.Continue to walk further in the valley. Your trekking trail from Gadsar to the next campsite will be parallel to the stream. As you trek further you will find few local huts and army guys patrolling in the area. They were very helpful and after your identify check proceed further where you will have to cross the stream to your campsite.

This was a long day for us as we were not allowed to camp next to Gadsar lake and had to walk another four to five kilometers in search of the next campsite. This campsite is hardly fifteen kilometers from line of control/war zone. Too much to climb and walk, but at the same time enjoyed the most. Kashmir Great Lakes trekking is something that you need to do atleast once in your life time. I will be writing more articles for rest of the days. Check out the video below for the virtual tour of day 4. Don’t forget to subscribe and follow me on social media to get the latest updates.